Whatcom County is facing acute challenges.
Critical shortages make safe and stable housing and childcare unattainable for many, and an outsize cost burden for many others. As baby boomers step away from business ownership, the region risks substantial job and revenue losses. Ours is a mostly rural community that prizes local food, loves its agricultural roots and needs to fortify them or watch them further erode.
On the plus side, the county boasts vital assets.
These include vibrant local food and beverage culture, untapped entrepreneurial potential on the sidelines, and the prospect for collaboration and synergies that lead to opportunity and growth. And Bellingham, our biggest city, features a spectacular, underused, publicly owned waterfront site.
The Millworks connects all these dots in one bold project.
Which we see as both tactical — meeting immediate needs — and strategic — adding to local-economy infrastructure that will make our community more resilient and contribute to its long-term health and vibrancy.
